Priority Landscapes
Priority Landscapes
Much of the work done by USGS WARC scientists occurs in areas of management concern, such as the Mississippi River Delta and the Florida Everglades. This place-based research focuses on understanding the biological and physical processes that influence change to inform management strategies across these large geographic areas.
Filter Total Items: 99
Connectivity of Coral Ecosystems in the Northwestern Gulf
Connectivity among coral communities influences the probability of speciation and contributes to their ability to adapt to natural and anthropogenic stressors. Results from this study will enhance our understanding of Gulf ecosystems with regional conservation initiatives to inform the restoration of degraded deepwater coral communities and preserve long-term viability of coastal ecosystems.
Understanding Avian Habitat Availability and Use After Barrier Island Restoration in Coastal Louisiana
Using ecological and geographical data, WARC researchers and their partners are analyzing avian and benthic sampling on Whiskey Island and Caminda Headland to compare pre- and post-restoration aspects of habitat occupancy, habitat availability, habitat use, and kernal density estimation.
Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) - Adaptive Management and Monitoring Planning and Implementation
The Mississippi barrier islands are dynamic coastal landforms that are the first line of defense between the Gulf and the Mississippi mainland coast. These islands are experiencing changes in structure (land area and habitat) and geomorphic processes (erosion and accretion) due to frequent intense storms, relative rise in sea level, and changes in sediment supply. A long-term monitoring and...
Seasonal Surveys of Shorebird and Coastal Waterbird Utilization of Dredged Material Islands in the Baptiste Collette Bayou, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New Orleans District, Louisiana
To assess use of dredge material areas, avian ecologists from USGS WARC are conducting bird surveys across the annual life cycle.
Factors Controlling Resilience and Resistance of Coastal Salt Marshes to Sudden Marsh Dieback
Sudden Marsh Dieback - SMD - has been documented for the past two decades throughout coastal areas of the United States. With these large-scale diebacks comes the loss of ecosystem functions and services. USGS scientsts use field work and greenhouse studies to investigate the factors that control the resilience and resistance of coastal salt marshes to SMD.
Evaluating Population Viability and Habitat Suitability for the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Under Future Climate and Management Conditions
WARC will assess Cape Sable seaside sparrow population response and viability under different management and habitat change scenarios. The USGS EverSparrow model will be run on future scenarios, and differences in the predicted probability of presence and the efficacy of varying conservation strategies will be evaluated.
Synthesizing Surface Elevation Change Data to Advance Understanding of Sea-level Rise Impacts to Mangrove Forests and Salt Marshes
USGS and NPS partners are working together to analyze and synthesize long-term SET-MH measurements to improve understanding of coastal wetland soil elevation change and ecological responses to sea-level rise.
Ecological Model Support for the Biscayne Bay and Southeastern Everglades Restoration Project
The Joint Ecosystem Modeling team will provide model output for a suite of ecological models to aid in restoration decision planning for the Biscayne Bay and Southeastern Everglades Restoration Project.
Ecological Modeling for the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) Operational Plan
The Joint Ecosystem Modeling team will run a suite of 13 ecological models to provide insight into alternative restoration plans' ecological performance, unintended ecological conditions, and potential conflicts with other Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) goals.
Carbon Storage and Fluxes on Department of Defense Installations
USGS is studying the effects of land-use and land-cover changes, and the effects of ecosystem disturbance and changing environmental conditions on carbon dynamics on Department of Defense lands.
Decision Support Tool to Assess the Carbon Sequestration Potential of Restoring Wetlands within National Park Service Lands
USGS is developing a modeling tool that will let National Park Service assess the carbon sequestration potential of future wetland restoration projects.
Adding an Aquatic Prey Fish Module within the Everglades Vulnerability Analysis Modeling Framework
The USGS Joint Ecosystem Modeling team will use Bayesian networks to build a spatially explicit Everglades Vulnerability Analysis module based on current knowledge and existing data on fish density and biomass trends on the landscape.